TV

That's a lot to resolve, but the first new episode -- "The Distance" -- gives it a shot. Sandy goes after Ryan with Kirsten's blessing, hoping that bringing him back to the Cohen household will inspire Seth to return, and Marissa becomes attracted to a hunky gardener (Nicholas Gonzalez). Former series regular Chris Carmack and Brian McNamara reprise their first-season roles as Luke Ward, Marissa's ex-boyfriend, and his father Carson.

"It was never a question of 'Would Ryan come back?'" series creator and executive producer Josh Schwartz maintains, "but a question of 'how,' and also of how his leaving and Seth's absence have sort of torn this community and these families apart, and of everything they're going to have to rectify and rebuild once they've returned." And how long will that take? Not surprisingly, Schwartz replies, "That, I can't tell you."

However, actors Barton, McKenzie and Brody can tell you how it feels to go from being relative unknowns to much-photographed idols of young viewers. McKenzie couldn't even escape his new fame in China last summer, since other visitors noticed him almost immediately. "I'm very lucky to have parents and two brothers who are very supportive," he says. "If I didn't, I don't know how I'd differentiate who I really am from how people see me. There's this odd thing that happens when you're in the public eye. If you want to be a celebrity who vies for attention, that can be had, but that's not me."

Barton has gotten extra exposure through skin-care-product ads and, courtesy of tabloids, her romance with oil-family heir Brandon Davis. "I think it's always important to promote a product that you want to be successful," she says. "You have to work for that. I'm very proud of everything that's come out of this, in general. It's entirely flattering to be on the covers of magazines and to be offered the chance to do endorsements, so you can't really complain."

Neither can Brody, who spent part of his hiatus working with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on the forthcoming movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (directed by Doug Liman, an executive consultant on "The O.C."). "It's weird to be known so well for playing this one character," Brody allows of the engagingly nerdy Seth. "My only concern is that I hope I don't get so well-known for this character that I can't be seen as anyone else. That said, I'm not too worried about it. I feel like I can make that transition -- and if I can't, I feel it'll be more because I didn't make smart-enough choices or wasn't a good-enough actor."

The success of "The O.C." also has impacted Rowan, who paid her dues in TV's "Boomtown," the movie "187" and numerous other projects in the United States and her native Canada. "It's great, because the long-term goal is just to try to stay in the game," she reasons, "to keep working and just get better at what you do. I just feel really blessed that I have such a great job and get to work with such great people. It's a terrific journey to take."

Rowan's partner in many "O.C." scenes, Gallagher enjoys encounters with older fans as well as younger ones, reaffirming why he wanted his role. "What always perplexed me," he says, "is that if you're watching an hour drama, it's completely devoid of any humor a lot of the time, and how inaccurately I thought that would reflect most people's life experience. If you get out of bed and you've got a job to do and you're a parent, half of what gets you through the day is either taking delight in other people's misfortunes or laughing at your own ... so when I first read this script, it felt like the kind of world I'd really, really want to participate in."

With the NBC ratings juggernaut "Friends" now gone from Thursdays, FOX has moved "The O.C." there from Wednesdays, but it still faces respectable competition from NBC's "Friends" spinoff "Joey" and the latest season of CBS' "Survivor." Schwartz reflects, "Wednesday was really competitive for us in terms of 'The Bachelor' (on ABC) and 'The West Wing' (on NBC). I think Thursday night actually is more favorable to us in terms of the demographics. We have our fan base. I think they're going to come with us, and I really do believe we're going to be able to build on that audience and expand."